Presentations
by mochamaker
Summary: Appearances aren't always what they seem.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own the characters. Not making a profit.

In honor of Coming Out Day. :+)

Rated T to M

POV Jane

**Presentations**

_Chapter One:_

I sat filling out my paperwork, rustling and shuffling in an attempt to get the multiple blank spaces filled in before quitting time. Sadly, the clock only read two in the afternoon. I wasn't off shift until four or five. I resisted the urge to bang my forehead against my desk, and instead laid my head on top of my folded arms. I heard Korsak enter the room and make his way over to his desk.

I kept my head down and held my breath, waiting to see if he would hit me over the head with a newspaper or throw a used napkin at my head to wake me up like he usually does. His chair squeaked as he sat down, and I released my held breath. Safe once again.

I lifted my head. Then a wadded piece of wax paper whizzed by a mere half inch from my nose.

"Dammit Korsak, how many times have I told you to leave me alone when I'm resting my eyes." I turned away and shrugged, "God, can't get a moments peace between you, Maura, and Frost."

"Ah, Rizzoli, you know we like you," he muttered around a mouthful of sub sandwich. After he swallowed, he said, "so, what's the Doc done now?"

"Other than nag me about my lack of manners, a decent wardrobe, and healthy food, eh, not much else."

"That pretty much covers you in a nutshell. So, trouble in paradise?" he softly mocked. I wanted to throw a pencil at his head, tell him to shut his trap and keep eating, but that'd be mean and he was always willing to listen to me when I needed a sympathetic ear most, and I needed to unload.

I looked away and stared at my desk. "Not really trouble, but things aren't going as planned."

"Do they ever. I got three exes, and believe me, I know that things never work out as you once planned. Never." He finished his sandwich and got up to get a cup of coffee.

I watched him pour a cup of coffee then look up at the bulletin board beside the coffee station.

"Korsak," I warned as I saw the coffee start to overflow from his mug. I slapped my desk. "Hey..pay attention."

"Ow. Crap," he muttered, then set his messy mug down and grabbed a napkin. As he mopped up the spill, he huffed and puffed, out of breath.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, Jane. Did you see this?" He pointed to the bulletin board.

I shook my head. "Nah, you know I never read that thing." I squinted at it but couldn't make out any of the fine print. I forgot my contacts today and told the Sarge to keep me on desk duty. He didn't mind after all since I never request for a lazy day. Probably thought I was struck with cramps or something equally femalish. "Why? What's on it?"

"Well, says here, that tonight there's a get-together for all the department LGBT BPD members. A dinner then a dance. To celebrate the National Coming Out day."

"Isn't that a mouthful of alphabet soup? And, I don't dance." I sarcastically remarked. "What do you know about LGBT stuff Korsak?"

"I keep up with it."

I stood up, needing to move around. "And..so what?" I walked over to stand by him, and stare at the flyer he pointed to. "A rainbow flyer? That's sure to get attention."

"Rainbow is like a symbol for the LGBT lifestyle. Rizzoli, you're a detective, and your involved in a same-sex relationship, why don't you know this?" He stared at me with his gaze and I felt like a three year old, scolded for taking a toy without asking.

"Uh, I know about it the rainbow," I mumbled and set about fixing myself a cup of coffee, needing to occupy my hands in some way. I was nervous at my lack of knowledge, so to save face, I turned the conversation around. "Anyways, what's the point of all this crap? Why even bring it up?"

He looked into his coffee cup then back to me, and whispered so nobody in the hallway would hear our conversation, "I think you need to take the Doc to this. Nobody but me, Frost, and the Sarge know about you two's relationship. I think it's time. Come out Jane."

"Time to parade around and make an ass of myself? In front of the whole department?" I sighed then said, "Korsak, are you nuts?"

"Look Jane, you said that Maura nags you over your lack of social niceties, well, this is a chance to show her that you do know a thing or two and can make her proud." He flashed me a ridiculously large grin. I frowned at him, but he still continued to grin. I sighed again.

"Okay, okay. You've talked me into it. What's the dress code?" I leaned in at the same time that he did and we bumped shoulders.

He pointed at the flyer. "Says here that it's business casual to formal wear. Dress, suit, or tux all welcome, no matter the gender." Then he leaned back and scratched his chin. "Well how bout that? You could get all decked out in a tuxedo, Rizzoli."

"I could. But she might not decide to go."

"Don't give her the option. Tell her that you're going out, which isn't a lie because you are, and take her to this. Plus, it's a way to meet other BPD members that share your lifestyle. You just bat your brown eyes at her and she'll fall at your feet. Isn't that how you got her in the first place?"

I laughed at his comment, then said, "she tripped and I caught her before she smashed her pretty face into the cement parking lot."

"See what'd I tell you…she fell at your feet and into your arms." He chortled, "it was meant to be."

I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back. "Fine…I'll go. _We'll_ go."

That's the spirit. And tell Suz from Narcotics hello from me," he said then went back to his desk, leaving me standing by the bulletin board all alone.

"Suz? Even Korsak is on the up with the LGBT. There are so going to take away my Lesbian card." I sighed and stared up at the whitish-brown ceiling, muttering, "what the fuck did I just get myself into?"

I chugged a swallow of hot coffee. The burning sizzle barely registered as I continued to stare at the rainbow flyer, my thoughts whirling in my head.

From across the room, Korsak laughed at me. I flipped him off as I made my way out the double doors and toward the morgue. I knew I needed to ask Maura before I ended up with cold feet.

**A/N: Chapter two will be posted tonight. **


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own the characters. Not making a profit.

In honor of Coming Out Day. :+)

Rated T to M

POV Maura

**Presentations**

_Chapter Two:_

I fidgeted as I covered Mr. Williams with the standard cover. The morgue was quiet. No assistants were about to witness my silent mental break. For as long as I can remember, I have never fidgeted. Little Jimmy Wheeler from my eighth grade class taunting me once again, his squeaky prepubescent voice still alive in my mind, yelling, "Maura Isles is so weird."

"Jane likes my weirdness," I muttered to the covered body.

I sighed and wheeled Mr. Williams toward the cooler for safekeeping, and thinking the whole way, he's right even after twenty years, Maura Isles is weird.. I just doesn't have unexplained random muscle contractions. From my studies on human behavior, I know my motions have a deep unconscious source; an unacknowledged reaction to my emotions.

In a nutshell as Jane would say, I was worried. But about what, I couldn't say. After firmly locking the patient in his room for the night, I started to fill out the required paperwork at my desk. I was several sentences into the autopsy report, my legs crossed as always, when my foot began to twitch.

I stopped breathing and watched my foot swing with no conscious control on my part.

Then Jane came in to the morgue, her steps loud as she approached me.

I continued to watch my swinging foot. I couldn't tear my eyes away.

"Hey Maura, what do you…" she reached my desk and stood next to me. I smelled her perfume as I drew a deep breath, the scent usually calming me, and making me feel elation, but I didn't feel it. Not today. My foot twitched and swung even more, my designer clog almost flying off my foot with the force of my twitches.

Jane's warm hand grabbed mine and she asked, "what's wrong?"

"I'm twitching," I said in a voice suspiciously similar to Jimmy's. "My muscles…" I looked up at Jane then back down to my swinging foot.

She laughed, then said, "Maura…you've twitched before." Her beautiful brown eyes, dark and loving glanced down into mine. "I've made you twitch and shake." Then she smiled a wide smile, the same smile she gave me the day I ended up at her feet and in her strong, smooth arms.

I blushed. "I know. But back to why I'm twitching now, it started shortly after I walked into the squad room and fixed a cup of coffee."

Those beautiful eyes widened and Jane squeaked, "did you read the bulletin board by any chance?"

I thought back to the morning. "Yes, I did. I always try to learn about the 'going ons' of the BPD. And since nobody informs me otherwise, I rely on the printed flyers and the monthly newsletter for my information."

Jane started to shift from foot-to-foot, and then dropped her gaze from mine to stare at my desk top. "You see, there's this get together and I think we should go." She avoided my gaze when I tried to get her to look at me again by tugging on her fingers. Her cheeks bloomed a deep red too.

I squeezed her hand and said, "I'm always willing to go out with you." This seemed to surprise her because she looked up with a startled expression. Maybe she thought I wasn't willing to go out with her in public.

She sighed, then said, "so, are you saying yes to going with me to the get-together?"

"If you tell me more about the get-together so I know how to dress appropriately, yes, absolutely."

She seemed relieved and sat down on the corner of my desk right beside me and on my paperwork. I sighed at her, but she ignored me as she said, "the get-together is sponsored by the BPD LGBT league, and it's a sort of meet and greet dinner and dance." Her booted foot started to swing as she shifted on my desk.

My foot swung hard enough to shake my knees, or maybe, my knees started shaking all on their own. I digested Jane's sentence noun by verb and realized that she was talking about announcing our relationship to the entire BPD. I started breathing faster and my heart rate sped up.

Jane grabbed my shoulder and made me look at her, no doubt sensing my rising panic. "Korsak thinks we should go…and so do I. We should feel comfortable with this."

"We should be," I whispered, and curled my hand into a fist, my nails digging into the skin of my palm.

"But, maybe we're not."

"No…we are."

She laughed. "Then why are we both fidgeting?"

Why indeed? I thought, then answered, "it's a big step for any couple, not necessarily same-sex. But it's even more important for same-sex couples. We would be Coming Out to our co-workers, announcing our private relationship outside of work. And it could change the way they see us, possibly change the way they interact with us."

"That's what Korsak said. Um, not about the interaction thing, but about the Coming Out day thing. It's a celebration of being who we really are, and he thinks its time we tell our secret. And we'll meet other BPD members and maybe make some friends that will accept us."

"There you go Jane. It's decided. Korsak insists that we go, then we are going. I'll finish this up and then go home and get ready."

"Dress code on the flyer said formal." She shifted her hips, then stood up, pulling me up out of my chair and to my feet.

I smiled. "Will you wear a suit? You look so handsome in a suit."

She arched an eyebrow, then said, "I'll wear whatever you want me to wear, Maura. Anything that won't get me arrested in a roomful of cops anyways or posted on the front page of the monthly newsletter."

"I would never embarrass you or get you arrested."

"You mean, not on purpose?"

"When have I ever embarrassed you? And to my knowledge, Jane Rizzoli, you have yet to get arrested for that drunken mishap at the Robber last spring." She wrapped me in a tight hug as a response.

In my ear, she whispered, "Uh, okay…okay. I get it, I embarrass myself without your assistance." She placed a quick kiss on my cheek and said, "be ready by six and I'll pick you up. It'll be like a 'real date'." Then, her arms released me and she walked away, whistling a silly tune.

"See you later babe," she yelled as she disappeared from my sight.

I sat down with a plop, crossed my legs and watched as my foot once again started to bounce and twitch violently. I crossed my arms on my desk and laid my head down to think. Unless an emergency pulls us away, we're going to announce our relationship to basically the whole of the BPD.

And, suddenly, I felt afraid. That's what I've been feeling all day. It was the flyer that triggered it.

"What did I just agree to?" I asked my silent patients. They remained quiet and allowed me to wallow and fret in peace.

**A/N: Next update on the way. WEEEEEEEE "I'm coming out.. I want the world to see…"**


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own the characters. Not making a profit.

In honor of Coming Out Day. :+)

Rated T to M

POV Suz from Narcotics

**Presentations**

_Chapter Three:_

I snuck into the banquet hall at the last minute. I checked my watch for the third time just to be sure. Late again. Damn.

Tugging at my bow-tie, I slid into my seat, the same seat I sat in last year when I attended with my then girlfriend. This year, I'm attending stag to prevent any drunken mishaps. Apparently my girlfriends tend toward the dramatic when consuming alcohol. I've brought dates to the last three of these get-togethers and each year I've had to leave early to avoid any further embarrassment.

As I shifted in my seat and leaned back, I flicked open my tux-coat button. I started sweating immediately, but whether it was the heavy wool of my jacket or the thought of being completely along among all my co-workers I wasn't for sure. The banquet room tended toward the higher end of the thermostat and tonight is no exception.

I licked my lips as I saw a waiter filling up water glasses with ice cold water. As he made the rounds of my table and filled up my glass, I immediately jumped forward and grabbed the glass. A loud shriek sounded just off to my left as my fingers closed around the dewy glass. In reaction, I dropped the glass, and could only watch as the liquid gushed out of the glass and all over the table cloth.

"Ah, I'm so sorry," I stuttered to my wide-eyed tablemates, then I grabbed napkins and tossed them on the spilled water. My cheeks flushed pink as they continued to stare at the water, creeping its way across the white fabric.

"Here, let me help," a soft voice said to my immediate right. I whipped around in reaction to the lilt in the voice and met the prettiest pair of green eyes I had ever seen. She grabbed her napkin and started to mop up the spill, mindless of the other table members.

"I'll help too," a deep husky voice added. I glanced up from my task and saw another fine specimen of the female form. This one with dark brown eyes, surrounded by full lashes and glaring at me with sympathy.

"Thank you," I said and let them help me clean up my clumsy mess. After all the water had been mopped up and the table cloth straitened, I turned to my two saviors and stuck out my slightly damp hand, looking hopeful into green then brown eyes. "I'm Suzzie James… Detective 2nd grade in Narcotics."

The green eyed woman grabbed my hand first and said, "I'm Doctor Maura Isles, Chief ME." After shaking my hand with a soft but strong grip, she released my fingers then turned her head toward the dark eyed woman, her eyes immediately sparkling happily. I recognized that particular sparkle. The sparkle of a woman thoroughly in love. My brain clicked the clues together. These two are a couple.

I released my held breath and turned to take the dark eyed woman's hand, giving it a shake and repeating my name and title.

"I'm Jane Rizzoli, Homicide."

I stopped shaking and just held her hand in astonishment. "You're Jane Rizzoli? _The _Jane Rizzoli?"

Jane squinted her eyes at me and frowned, remaining silent as I held her hand. I dropped her hand in fear that I had offended her or something equally stupid.

Doctor Isles laughed softly. "Yes, she is."

"My license says so, but maybe they misspelled my name and it was meant to be Jim." Then she smiled a wide toothy grin and gazed at the Doctor affectionately.

"I hope you're not meant to be a Jim, otherwise you are missing a few key parts of your anatomy," Maura said, looking at Jane with an equally wide and just as goofy grin.

Jane shrugged and grabbed Maura's hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. Then, she turned her head and met my gaze, her hand still on Maura's, and said in a husky soft burr, "we're um…well together."

I smiled, then said, "I gathered as much. I am a Detective for a living."

"So am I, but that doesn't mean that I have a freaking clue about…uh, stuff. You know, gay stuff?"

"I know what you mean." I averted my eyes for a minute, then went back to look at Jane. "Believe me, when I first came out…it was tragic. I made the biggest ass of myself ever."

Jane shifted in her seat and cleared her throat. "It's very easy to do. I mean, the making an ass of oneself." She sipped her water, then said, "I tend to do that a lot."

Green eyes left me to look at Jane, the corners crinkling as Maura scowled, then said, "no, you don't."

"Yes, I do. Don't say any different just to make me feel better. I know I embarrass you in public and…" Then, Jane shrugged, looking away and across the room to the waiters as they started to bring the dinners around to the tables.

"Jane, I'm proud to be seen with you."

"I just feel like sometimes you aren't." Jane sighed, then took a long drink of her water to stall any further comments popping out from her mouth no doubt.

I watched fascinated as my idol showed her insecurities. It was like watching the Red Sox beat the Yankees for me. I stayed silent because I wasn't sure what to say that would be comforting to either party. So instead, I focused on the waiter as he set my plate of fettuccine alfredo. I sighed as I remembered that the majority of the rooms occupants belong to the no-meat eater category. I myself, love a good slab of steak when formal dinners are required.

I nodded to the waiter when he asked if I needed another glass of water, then picked up my fork, intent on eating and not paying attention to Jane and Maura's soft whisperings.

As I chewed my first bite, I glanced up in time to see Maura push back her chair and prepare to leave the table. I watched as Jane grabbed her arm and pulled her close, then kissing her solidly on the mouth. My fork clattered to the table, the noise echoing in the now silent room as all eyes turned away from their food and toward our table. Wolf whistles and cat calls erupted in the room as all the other occupants focused on the kissing couple.

"Way to go Jane," a man off to the left at another table said.

"Give her some love Doc," a woman across the room shouted.

I gulped then tried to swallow my food, but my throat closed and wouldn't work properly. I reached for my water as I started to choke, my eyes wide with panic, but never leaving Jane and Maura, still kissing deeply. Several coughs and I could breathe again.

As air flowed through my lungs, then out without any trouble, I leaned back in my chair. The couple separated, but Jane left her hand on the back of Maura's neck, her thumb stroking the skin seductively.

"Forget dinner, you two just get right to dessert," I said with a smile.

"I wasn't really hungry for noodles anyway," Jane burred.

"Me either," Maura whispered, so softly that I had to lean over to hear her. Then she grabbed Jane's hand and pulled her to her feet. Jane stood and stared around the room at all the smiling faces.

"Uh, so we're dating." She pointed at Maura then looked everybody in the eye and said louder, "that means…quit looking at her in a more than co-worker way. Everybody understand? She's mine now. Right Doc?"

With flushed cheeks and gasping breath, Maura husked, "Indeed."

"Okay. Good. You ready now Maura? Objective reached, we came out…now lets go home. This shirt itches."

"I'll help you take it off," Maura whispered in Jane's ear as the couple held hands and walked away from the table.

I clicked my teeth together with the force of closing my wide open mouth. And to think I wasn't sure if I wanted to attend this year.

Still in shock, I heard from across the room several animated voices all centered around a similar statement, "Jane Rizzoli and the Doc are dating. Who knew?"

I sure didn't, I thought as I chugged my water in a very rude way. Somehow, I knew that this night would be the topic of conversation around the BPD for the next six months. Yep, my idol definitely enjoys being in the spotlight. _I wonder what else she'll do? _My mind started playing dirty images and suddenly the water wasn't helping.

**A/N: Maybe the last update, but I'm going to keep the story open just incase I get the urge to write a last chapter. Thanks for reading. **


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